Supreme Court seeks police status report on Palghar lynching

New Delhi:The Supreme Court sought a status report from Maharashtra police on Friday on the probe so far into the lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Palghar by a crowd.

Atwo-judge bench, comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna, said it would hear the case after four weeks once it gets a status report.

The court also made the Union of India a party to the case.


The top court was acting on a petition filed by advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha alleging police complicity in the incident and demanding a probe either by a judicial commission or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident.

The lawyer argued that every single citizen was entitled to right to life and equality under the law. These sadhus were denied of it despite the top court’s earlier directions to the executive authorities to prevent any lynching, he said. Despite seeking police help they were lynched, the lawyer argued.

In his petition, Jha argued that the two sadhus belonged to the Dashami Juna Akhara, which had protected the city of Benaras in the past and had also taken part in the Sannyasi rebellion against the British colonial rulers.

“The attack on them was an attack on the society as a whole and could cause social disturbance,” his petition said.